The Drug Education Forum is a forum of national organisations committed to improving the practice and profile of drug education in England. Find out more…

Papers for practitioners

The Drug Education Forum has a history of supporting the development of practice and policy. We have produced six papers with the aim of helping those engaged in teaching drug education, whether in school or other settings, to address issues that we believe are important to meeting the needs of children and young people.

The papers include the principles of good drug education, working as a visitor to school, the use of rules and ethos to protect young people, engaging parents, learning from life skills programmes, and addressing legal highs.

Read more here.

Government drug advice for schools

The Department for Education and Association of Chief Police Officers have published joint guidance for schools to help them manage drug and alcohol incidents, inform them about their legal powers they have (particularly around searching pupils and confiscating contraband) and to help them develop a drug policy.

Download our briefing paper on the guidance here.

Response to the PSHE Review

The Drug Education Forum has submitted our formal response to the government’s internal review of PSHE education.

We have called on the government to meet the Prime Minister’s stated aim of ensuring that all schools deliver good drug education, and to help schools access up to date evidence on what is likely to be effective in achieving the outcomes they and society want from drug education.

Read our response here.